Plan: Run 5 mins, walk 3 mins, run 8 mins, walk 3 mins, run 5 mins
Actual: Run 5 mins, walk 3 mins, run 8 mins, walk 3 mins, run 5 mins

Today’s run went fine.  I’ve come to the conclusion that I can actually run anything called for in the C25K plan as long as it allows for some walking breaks. This week I went a bit further than usual as the plan has now extended the workout from the normal 20 mins to 24 mins.

As I get near the end of the C25K plan, I’ve been looking to getting a new gadget to celebrate my C25K graduation and for when I start to move on to more running.  I still have some more research to do, but I’m torn between the Garmin Forerunner 305 running GPS and heart rate monitor and the Polar S625X running computer and heart rate monitor.  Some key things I’m looking for are:

• Heart rate monitoring
• Being able to get exact distances and pace
• Being able to analyze the data on my PC
• Figuring out how many calories I’ve burned

I prefer the GPS device as I can plot my routes, but I’m concerned about the accuracy of the distances.  The Polar device has an extremely good reuptation and that’s where I’m leaning right now, but that seems to change on an hourly basis.

Posted by derek as C25K at 8:41 PM PDT

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Plan: Run 20 mins
Actual: Run 17.5 mins, walk 2.5 mins
Today was the day I wasn’t looking forward to.  I had to run 20 mins whereas my longest single run in the past was 8 mins and that was only once.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it.  I managed to go for 17.5 mins.  I’m still proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish though.  I need to decide if I will move on to the week 6 plan, or if I would repeat week 5.  I’m leaning towards moving on, but I’ll seek the advice of the member of the C25K board at www.coolrunning.com .

Posted by derek as C25K at 8:43 PM PDT

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Plan: Run 8 mins, walk 5 mins, run 8 mins

Actual: Run 8 mins, walk 5 mins, run 8 mins

I was worried about today’s run.  After it, it called for two 8-min runs.  Up until a week and half ago, I was struggling to do a second 5-min run.  Well, I surprised myself and completed both 8-min runs.  I actually felt quite comfortable and I’m feeling less apprehensive about the 20-min run that I will have to do on Friday.

Posted by derek as C25K at 8:43 PM PDT

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Plan: Run 5 mins, walk 3 mins, run 5 mins, walk 3 mins, run 5 mins
Actual: Run 5 mins, walk 3 mins, run 5 mins, walk 3 mins, run 5 mins

I was a bit worried about today’s run.  After all, during week 4 (and the repeat I did), it was tough to finish the second 5-min run.  Today I had to do THREE 5-min runs.  Well, I came through with flying colors.  I managed to do all three 5-min runs and it felt pretty comfortable.

The most obvious factor is that I’m getting in better and better shape, but I think the 3-min walking break made a big difference too.  Last week, I only had a 1.5 min walking break before having to do the second 5 min run.

Today I also decided to take a small 8-oz bottle of water which I held in my hand.  I had noticed in my previous outings that my mouth was getting very dry.  I only ended up drinking 4 oz, but that made a big difference too.  It felt a bit strange running with the bottle, especially towards the end when it was sloshing around quite a bit, but the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages of carrying the water.

The rest of this week is only going to get harder.  I have to run 8 mins on the second day and 20 mins on the tnird day.

Posted by derek as C25K at 8:43 PM PDT

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Plan: Run 3 mins, walk 1.5 mins, run 5 mins, walk 2.5 mins.  Repeat once

Actual: Ran 3 mins, walked 1.5 mins, ran 5 mins, walked 2.5 mins, ran 3 mins, walked 1.5 mins, ran3 mins, walked 5 mins

For the first time since I started running, I just felt as though I had no energy today when I started.  This is reflected in the fact that I was unable to complete the second 5-min run.  I’ll have to monitor how I feel over the next few runs to see if it’s because I’m not resting enough, sleeping enough, or eating enough.

On a lighter note, I got new socks yesterday and used it today and it is a definite improvement :-).  It is no longer slipping into my show.

It’s now on to the week 5 program and that daunting 20-min run on the 3rd day of the week.

Posted by derek as C25K at 8:44 PM PDT

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